Ukraine makes NATO membership bid following Putin's annexation of four Ukrainian regions

Ukraine's president says his country is submitting an “accelerated” application to join the NATO transatlantic military alliance. Kyiv's move follows Moscow's formal annexation of four partly occupied regions.

“We are taking our decisive step by signing Ukraine's application for accelerated accession to NATO,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a Telegram post issued in the wake of Russia's annexation announcement.

Ascension to NATO requires the unanimous approval of all 30 of the alliance's member states. Prior to launching its offensive in late February, Russia had insisted on guarantees from the West that Ukraine would never join NATO.

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